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Prime minister offered support to editor in phone hacking scandal

Former hotshot editor Rebekah Brooks drew Prime Minister David Cameron closer into Britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal Friday, saying he had offered her some support after the uproar over illegal journalistic practices forced her to quit.

Brooks, who resigned in July as chief executive of News International, Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper division, detailed her close friendships with Cameron, former Prime Minister Tony Blair and their families, in testimony to the country's inquiry into media ethics.

In six hours of questioning, Brooks listed Christmas parties, private dinners and hotel lunches she shared with the country's most powerful political leaders. She also acknowledged that she used her access to lobby the British government over a planned News Corp. takeover deal that would have netted Murdoch's media empire a lucrative satellite broadcaster.

The former editor of two Murdoch tabloids -- The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World -- has twice been arrested and questioned by police about illegal eavesdropping and obstruction of justice. She has not been charged with any offense, but is currently on bail pending further investigations -- so the inquiry lawyer did not question her directly about phone hacking allegations.

Known for her striking red curls and meteoric rise from junior employee to top editor at News of the World, Brooks, 43, said Cameron was a personal friend and a neighbor in the picturesque Cotswolds area of southern England.

After she quit in July due to the uproar over phone hacking, Brooks said she had received "indirect messages" of support -- text messages sent by the aides of politicians, but relaying their personal thoughts -- including from Cameron.

"I received some indirect messages from No. 10, No. 11, the Home Office and Foreign Office," Brooks said, referring to Cameron, Treasury chief George Osborne and other leading Cabinet members.

She agreed with inquiry lawyer Robert Jay that a message from Cameron had told her to "keep your head up" and expressed regret that he could not offer more support publicly, because of the political pressure he was under over the scandal.

The message was "along those lines, I don't think they were the exact words," Brooks said.

Cameron has previously acknowledged that he has known Brooks' husband Charlie for 30 years and that he had ridden on a retired police horse that had been loaned to Brooks.

She told the inquiry that Blair, his wife and advisers "were a constant presence in my life for many years" and said the ex-leader had also offered support when she quit.

In 2003, as editor of The Sun, Brooks said her newspaper's support for Britain's role in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq saw their relationship deepen.

"During the Iraq war, I spent more time than usual talking to Tony Blair and Downing Street," she said. Public opinion was divided in Britain over the war, with large numbers opposed to Blair's decision to join the conflict.